


Into the Woods

by lasvegas_lights



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 10:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13432575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: The Rowdy 3 get lost, Todd is overprotective, for some reason there's a golden egg and Amanda just wants to cuddle up to Martin in peace. Takes place after season 2.





	Into the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> I'm over on Tumblr if you want to say hello http://starlingbite.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Amanda’s eyes widened in recognition as she spotted something whizz past the window,  “Okay!” She swung her head around to face Martin sat in the driver’s seat (as usual) “We’ve definitely passed that tree three times.”

“Trees all look the same Drummer.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “We’re lost aren’t we.”

“Have to have a destination to be lost.”

Amanda snorted, “How very zen of you.”

She peered out through the windshield at the darkening skies above them. It wouldn’t be long before it was pitch black outside and if they didn’t find somewhere to stop and rest soon they would have to drive all night. Having spent most of the day cooped up in the van, Amanda knew they all needed some time to stretch their legs and let of a little bit of steam.

“Let’s just find somewhere to camp tonight.” She suggested, “We can navigate our way out of these woods in the morning.”

Martin nodded, “You’re the boss.”

She rolled her eyes, “Stop calling me that.”

He didn’t respond but she saw him grin out of the corner of her eye. A mile or so later, Martin pulled into a clearing and put the van in park.

As soon as the van was stationary, four people jumped out of the back and spread out.

Via the wing mirror Amanda witnessed Vogel launch himself at a low hanging tree branch and swung on it like a monkey. The beast wasn’t far behind and used Vogel as a climbing frame to get herself up onto the branch. Meanwhile, Gripps and Cross had pulled out the last few cans of beer and were chugging them down with enthusiasm.

She climbed out of the passenger side and took a moment to stretch out her cramped muscles. Bending down to touch her toes, she heard the schnick of a lighter being ignited and then the smell of cigarette smoke. Looking up, she caught Martin looking at her over the rim of his glasses with heat in his eyes.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

With the cigarette held in the corner of his mouth he responded, “Can’t help it Drummer” His eyes flicked from her face to her ass and then to her face.

She unfolded herself and stole the cigarette, taking a puff and blowing out the smoke in Martin’s direction “Save it for later,” She gave him a peck on the lips and then returned the cigarette from where she’d taken it.

He reached out to pull her close but she had already moved out of arm's reach. If Martin had his way she would be inside the back of the van with Martin, top off and the doors locked to keep the others from interrupting.

As nice as that sounded the light had already dimmed further and they didn’t have time to mess around, not until camp was set up.

“I’m gonna go find some wood for the bonfire.” She announced to the group. “Back soon.”

She glanced back at Martin who was giving her a look that said _don’t go too far_ and then disappeared into the mass of trees. She hoped the others would having everything set up by the time she got back.

Leaves crunched under her boots as she trudged through the forest aimlessly. She tried to stay close but was forced to venture deeper into the woods to find drier wood. Any dry wood she did come across was tucked into the crook of her left arm, keeping her right arm free to collect more wood.

Just a year ago, she would have been at home, warm and well fed but alone and afraid of everything outside the safety of it’s walls. Now she was living on the road with a bunch of emotion-sucking vampires and a rainbow haired _something_. If she had been told this would be her life she would have laughed. She couldn’t imagine her life being anything else now, especially since she and Martin had become something of a two-for-one deal.

A undistinguishable sound caught her attention suddenly and she froze on the spot. With all the trees around her the sound was bouncing around and Amanda couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. What she could tell was that it was coming closer. The sound got louder and louder and Amanda realised it was screaming.

She dropped the wood she had been collecting and looked in all directions around, keeping alert for what was heading in her direction. The sun was mostly gone by now so Amanda couldn’t see much, which is how she missed the figures running towards her until it was too late and she collided with one of them. She landed on her back with a thud, the air pushed from her lungs.

She looked up at the person who had fallen on top of her and her jaw fell in shock. “Dirk?”

The holistic detective’s eyes widened and he grinned down at her, “ _Hi_ Amanda!” He greeted her enthusiastically. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“Do you mind?” Amanda gasped, “You’re heavy.”

“Oh, sorry,” Dirk scrambled to his feet and held out a hand to help Amanda up. Back on two feet, Amanda looked from Dirk to the figure standing next to him. Of course it was her brother, who else would it be? “Todd? What the hell are you two doing out in the middle of nowhere?”

Todd was out of breath and looking a little panicked. “That’s a really good question but can we answer it when we’re not being chased down by psychos?” He grabbed Amanda’s arm and tried to pull her in the opposite direction they had appeared from.

“Wait.” Amanda yanked her arm free and took a step backwards. “Chased? Are you on another case?”

“Yes, a case, one which isn’t going so well right now.” Todd glared at Dirk.

“Oh come on Todd, surely you’re used to this by now” Dirk patted his friend on the shoulder “So we _nearly_ died, it’s all-

“If you say connected I’m going to crack this egg open on your head.”

Huh. Amanda suddenly noticed the golden egg, the size of a soccer ball Todd was holding onto.

“You do and we’ll have lost our only clue to the case.”

Todd sighed. “Look, can we just get out of here now? They can’t be far behind.”

Amanda felt the usual bubble of frustration Todd caused in her rise to the surface, “Okay, Where did you come from, who is chasing you, what’s the case, where’s Farah and why the hell are you holding a golden egg?”

“All _very_ good questions.” Dirk smiled proudly at her. “You’re a lot more like Todd than you think.”

“Dirk!” Todd barked, “We don’t have time for-

The trio hadn’t heard the two men sneak up on them until it was too late. An arm grabbed Amanda and she had no time to react before she was pulled into a strong hold, a sharp trident rammed into her neck, the three points pressed into her so hard she was surprised they hadn’t broken the skin.

To the left was the second pursuer who was pointing his trident at Todd and Dirk.

Who the hell uses _a trident_ as a weapon? She snorted at the thought and the man tightened his grip on her in response.

“Give us the golden egg and the girl goes free.” The man holding her growled.

“Give us the girl or we destroy the golden egg.” Todd replied, lifting the egg above his head.

“Todd! That’s our only clue to solve the case!” Dirk reminded Todd.

Todd turned to Dirk, “We can’t just let them kill Amanda.”

The man pointing the trident looked at Todd and then Dirk and back to Todd like he was watching a tennis match.

“Enough!” Amanda winced as the man shouted into her ear. “This isn’t a negotiation, we will be leaving with the egg and the girl.”

“Like hell.” Amanda snarled under her breath. For a brief moment she feared the Rowdy 3 were unaware of what was going on not far from camp, but then she heard a deep howl and relaxed into her captor’s grip. She felt herself grinning and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her throat.

“What are you laughing at?” He asked.

“You’re really gonna regret this in a minute,” She explained.  

A second later the four Rowdies jumped out of the shadows, howling and growling angrily. The two men didn’t know which direction look as they were circled slowly like they were prey. Martin was swinging his favourite baseball bat, staring at the man holding Amanda with nothing but rage in his eyes.

“You okay Drummer?” Martin asked.

“I will be.” She responded and then hissed as the man pressed the sharp points of the trident into her neck again.

“You know what we gotta do?” They didn’t want to start a fight and risk her captor having the chance to thrust the trident into her neck. There was only one way she was getting out of the situation alive. It was feeding time.

She gritted her teeth, “Do it.”

Vogel, Gripps, Martin and Cross planted their feet into the ground, opened their mouths and then the dark woods suddenly lit up by the bright blue light being sucked out of the two men as well as Amanda caught in the crossfire.

It was the first time they had fed off her without her being in the middle of a pararibulitis attack. Normally in too much pain to know what was going on, this time she was aware of it all and whilst it was strange it was also comforting as well. The blue light reached into every nerve in her body and then there was a feeling like something was being pulled from inside her.

She knew the effect of feeding on a normal person was painful, that it was almost like sucking the life out of them and as the light consumed them both she felt the trident drop from her neck and the body behind her shake and gasp for air.

She took the chance and used her body weight to push the man back until he was lying supine on the forest floor, ashen faced and trembling.

The feeding stopped and her legs gave out from underneath her. Martin caught her before she reached the ground, Amanda certain she had never seen him move that fast before.

“Damn you guys were hungry,” She sighed. Her arms went around his neck to keep herself upright, still feeling a little bit weak from being fed on.

Looking down at the two men who had come close to killing her, she kicked the one closest to her as he writhed pathetically on the ground. “Find something to tie these two up with.”

Cross nodded at Amanda and ran back towards camp. They had some rope they used to tie shit down to the roof rack which would keep the two goons tied up till morning when they could deal with them properly.

“’Manda!” Todd ran over to Amanda and tried to take over as support but Amanda waved him off, perfectly happy in Martin’s arms.

“I’m fine.” She promised

“But they did the sucky blue light thing on you.” She noticed Todd give Martin a dark look.

“Yeah…that’s kinda what they do Todd.”

“But-

“Todd!” Amanda snapped, “You should be thanking them for saving me from the situation you and Dirk got me into in the first place,” She chided him, “But why don’t we do that back at camp where I can rest and eat my bodyweight in marshmallows.”

Todd was silent on the short walk back to camp whilst Dirk attempted to explain the case to Amanda, not that she was really paying attention. Vogel and Gripps had stayed behind to wait for Cross and the rope to tie the two men up but Martin had gone with Amanda to make sure she got back in one piece, not completely trusting Todd or Dirk with the responsibility.

He helped her to sit down on a felled log and then dug around in the back of the van for a blanket and snacks for her. To the outside world Martin was scary and dangerous but with her he was a big softy who looked out for her in a million different ways. The Beast who had stayed behind almost launched herself at Dirk when she spotted him, tangling herself around him like an octopus.

Ten minutes later, Cross, Gripps and Vogel returned with two tridents and armfuls of wood for the bonfire. She watched them from her spot as the fire was lit with Martin’s lighter and fed dry leaves to build it up quickly. The warm soon reached her skin and the blanket wasn’t necessary anymore.

“You’ll have to stay with us tonight, we can drop you off wherever you need to be tomorrow.” Amanda said to the dynamic duo. The egg was on the ground beside Dirk, his hand resting protectively on it.

“I love camping, don’t you Todd?” Dirk smiled.

Todd slapped his arm, “Bugs…I hate bugs.”

Amanda shook her head and then looked up at Martin who had finished building the bonfire and had made his way over to her. She smiled at him as he dropped down onto the ground, his back resting on the log she was sitting on. He drew up his knees and spread them, leaving a space between his legs.

Lifting herself off the log, she quickly slotted herself in the space between Martin’s legs and rested her back against his chest. His left arm slung over her shoulder and his hand came to rest on her other shoulder. She felt his face pressed into her hair and heard him inhale deeply

“Feeling better?” He asked quietly and she nodded in response.

For a brief moment they sat together silently, enjoying the heat from the fire and the pleasure of close contact.

“Hey Drummer?” Martin broke the silence.

“Hmm?”

“Your brother is staring.”

She looked over in the same direction as Martin and frowned. Todd was staring back at them with incredulity in his eyes.

“What’re you looking at asshole?” Amanda shouted across the bonfire, even thought she had a suspicion she already knew what the problem was.

“Amanda, can we talk?… _Privately.”_ Todd asked.

“Oh my God,” Amanda groaned, too tired for the conversation she was about to have with her brother. She used Martin’s knees as leverage to lift herself up and then trudged across to Todd. “Come on then.” She sighed and pulled him towards the van. “If you’re about to say what I think you’re going to say…just don’t.”

Todd ignored her request, “ _Him_? Really?”

“Yes _him._ ” Amanda snapped back, “You don’t even know him so don’t judge.”

“I’ve seen enough…is he even human?”

“Is Dirk? Or the others?” Amanda was getting frustrated. “Does it even matter?”

“I’m just looking out for you.”

“You have a really funny way of showing it.” She looked at him pointedly. She had plenty of examples on the tip of her tongue of Todd being a less than stellar brother. She knew he was trying to be better and they certainly had grown closer since Wendimoor, but that didn’t excuse his current behaviour.

“He keeps me safe, makes me happy and unlike you doesn’t try and decide what’s best for me without consulting what I want…anything else shouldn’t matter to you.”

“Amanda.” He reached out for her and she stepped back in response.

“It’s okay Todd, You have your life now and I have mine, sometimes they’re gonna intersect…I love you because you’re my brother, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you all the time.”

“Amanda,” Her tried again.

“If you want to start making amends _again-_ ” Amanda emphasised the last word heavily, “maybe stop looking at the man I’m in love with like you want to kill him. You wouldn’t want to attempt it by the way, he could squash you like a bug.”

When she spun, her hair flicked up, almost whipping Todd across the face. She left before Todd could say anything else and returned to the spot between Martin’s legs. A moment later Todd returned to his spot and shook his head at Dirk’s questioning look.

Martin’s arms welcomed her as she sunk into him and he pressed a kiss to her temple, “Man you’re in love with huh.” He kept his voice low so no-one else could hear.

“Crap.” Her face flushed red, she hadn’t exactly said those words to him yet, “You heard that?”

She felt him shrug against her, “The wind was in the right direction.”

“Just because I…You don’t have to say it or even feel it.” This wasn’t how she wanted the conversation to go. Not that she had had any time to plan the conversation, nor had her and Martin had much free time without the others recently. A part of her had been hoping to avoid the conversation entirely, not wanting to hear Martin tell her that he didn’t feel the same.

“Hey,” She twist her neck until their eyes met. She could see the reflection of flames in his glasses and his eyes were soft and warm behind the frames. “The feeling’s mutual.”

“Yeah?” She smiled at him.

“Hell yeah,” he replied.

A calloused hand cupped her cheek and his fingers threaded into her hair to pull her forwards, closing the gap between them. The kiss was slow and deep and she would definitely have a rash from beard burn afterwards. If Todd was staring, she really didn’t fucking care.

In the morning, they dropped Dirk and Todd off at a motel an hour down the road, the golden egg safe in Dirk’s arms. Todd and Amanda hugged goodbye, the embrace stiff and awkward, and then she climbed back into the passenger side of the van just as Martin lifted his foot off the break.

She didn’t say much for the next few hours, instead she rested her head against the window and stared out at the thousands of trees and rocks that passed by.

Amanda’s eyes widened in recognition and horror as she spotted something whizz past them “Okay, We’ve definitely passed that tree three times now.”


End file.
